The Moon of the Kurta Clan
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Kurt is a lonely girl with nothing left to lose and the world to gain. When she decides to become a Hunter, she has no idea that it would open up her small world. Now she learns that more just her identity has been taken, but also a half brother who had been searching for her since the death of the Potters. Can Kurt become a Hunter, or will she end up becoming a pawn? Killua/Kurt
1. Chapter 1

'Kurt' took a deep breath. Today was the day she took her first step away from the hell that was her life. Her aunt had signed the slip so fast it was a miracle she didn't get whiplash.

At least she had given her some cash so that Kurt could walk around in decent clothes. The jacket, combined with the oversized shirt covered her budding curves so well it wasn't any surprise people assumed she was a 'he' from the name she had chosen for herself.

Her aunt didn't want the girl to live. She knew that for a fact. The only reason she had agreed to let her go to the exam was because it had a high death rate and because in the highly unlikely chance she survived _and _passed, she had sworn never to darken their doorstep again.

People couldn't tell licensed Hunters where to live. If she didn't want to live with her relatives and lived on her own in the wilderness, then it would be her business and the authorities couldn't do a damn thing about it.

As it stood, if they pressed the issue, she had no problem torching Surrey to the ground. There were no innocents there. They were all accomplices in her personal hell. They became that way by ignoring the clear truth that something was very, very wrong with her.

She walked in with the guide, and waited for the rest of the people to show up. She the first person to make it to the exam, and had the dubious honor of having the number _1_ on her button. In a way, it symbolized her future. She had only one path left open for her to take. She would either become a Hunter...or she would die.

As the exam hall filled with people, she mingled with the others. None of them even batted an eye aside from noting she had made it to the hall first. Odd, but not really noteworthy.

It wasn't until she found another rookie that things deviated.

Number _99_ was similar to her...but different. He didn't have the same empty feeling she had when looking into a mirror.

"Huh...didn't expect a fellow assassin to be here. Especially one my age."

"Assassin?" she asked. One of the few things she had noted about herself was the fact that her voice could be either boy or girl. Combined with her clothes and name, she was often thought to be a boy unless proven otherwise.

"Name's Killua. Killua Zoldyck."

"Call me Kurt. And I'm not an assassin...though if I ever did take up that trade I would probably be very good at it..."

"I bet. I can barely tell that you're there at all. Even I have trouble pulling that off. So what are you here for?"

"This was the last path I could take. How about you?"

"I was bored and the exam seemed like it would be challenging enough to entertain me."

"So what's your family like?"

"Dysfunctional at its best, horrifying at it's worst. You?"

"If those...things qualified as human, then I might possibly consider calling them my family. As it stands, the only nice thing my aunt ever did for me was let me take this exam. It's literally make-it-or-break-it for me."

"Your family couldn't be that bad, could it?" asked Killua, whose eyes were wide. Sure, his family put him through hell, but they still showed that they cared in their own way.

"I did better living in the middle of the woods with animals trying to kill and eat me every minute of the day than I did in a house in suburbia. Trust me, you wouldn't believe how horrible they are."

"I'll take your word for it," said Killua, sweat-dropping. It almost sounded like he would prefer to deal with Mike every day instead of go back. Most people were terrified of the Zoldyck's massive guard dog who ate intruders who didn't pass the test.

Soon the two went onto a safer topic, which happened to be books. Killua was in disbelief how much Kurt read on average. When he learned why, he understood. The more he heard about these...Dursleys...the more he was seriously considering going to Surrey to pay them a little...visit. He was sure if his father knew about them, he would want to pay them a...visit...as well. Even assassins have _some_ standards.

Kurt sat down and pulled out something he had stolen before she had gotten there. It was a music player, and after she had gotten it she had loaded it with so much music that there was barely any space left. Killua could hear her humming to a song he felt fit her perfectly for someone who felt so empty it took an assassin to detect their presence.

"_In my mind worlds collide, something inside me is gone_

_Still I keep going on_

_In my mind oceans divide, I don't know where I belong_

_But still I keep holding on and on_

_I get by in a world with no conscience_

_By shutting it out and being anonymous_

_And the problem is you're just like me_

_We get by in a world with no conscience_

_By shutting it out and being anonymous_

_hello hello hello_

_Is there anybody out there_

_I get by in a world with conscience_

_I try and I try but I am anonymous_

_And the problem is you're just like me_

_I feel so anonymous_

_There's times it didn't matter at all_

_I'm not gonna to give it away, not going to let it go_

_Just to wake up someday gone_

_The worst part is looking back_

_and knowing that I was wrong."_

(_Three Days Grace: Anonymous_)

When the alarm went off, Kurt got up.

She started to run with the rest, before putting on a pair of skates she had nabbed before anyone noticed. Soon she was zooming past the rest with ease.

Her pickpocketing skills were so good that it was surprising that her uncle never figured it out and used it. She had quite a few things she had nabbed because she wanted to be prepared. And since she had no intention of going back to England or the surrounding areas anytime soon she had taken quite a bit.

Somethings were necessary supplies, others were spur of the moment.

Even when the security cameras caught her, when the guards went to respond to the obvious theft, they still never found her. Which was odd because half the time she was standing right in front of the guards watching them search in vain. Even though there wasn't a soul near her.

And once she made it onto the street, they never saw her again. She had a particular strategy, which was to hit a store hard once, then never go there again for at least a year or two. With the odd bag she had taken from the equally odd Alley in London, it was unlikely she would ever have trouble carrying all the things she took.

Though she avoided the squat, cranky looking people guarding the bank after reading the poem.

A short spiky haired kid ran up beside her and Killua.

"So...who are you two?"

"I'm Killua."

"Kurt."

"I thought I was going to be the only kid under fifteen here."

"I'm eleven," said Killua.

"I'm ten...and I'll turn eleven in July."

Both boys turned to her in shock.

"But I thought the application said only kids eleven or older were allowed?" asked Gon.

"I fudged my birth date. As long as my aunt signed the form, they don't give a damn that I'm a year too young for this exam. And there is no way in hell I was going to wait another year just because of some age restriction," said Kurt annoyed.

"Yeah, but what if the proctor finds out..." said Gon.

"You don't know a damn thing about the exams do you? As long as I keep quiet about it and keep up, the proctor most likely won't care I'm a year too young to be here. The devil himself could pass these things so long as the proctors allow it," said Kurt.

"How do you know that?" asked Killua.

"You ever look up some of the Hunters who have passed this thing? Some of them are total psychopaths. Even so, they were given a license to kill...within reason. The Hunter's Association doesn't care so long as they don't go overboard, and then they have to send people in to stop them. So a little thing like an under-aged Hunter isn't going to bother them one bit. Why else would they allow kids who haven't even reached puberty yet to join?"

"You actually looked it up?"

"They have a small side section on the Hunter's website. I swiped this loser's license to get onto it and found the section with past tests on it. Most people can't get to it because you need the license just to log on, but apparently they never blocked it against people with stolen cards. There are four to five parts to each exam with volunteers acting as proctors. But there wasn't anything on what happens after you get a license. I gave the license back before the Hunter I swiped it from noticed."

"Are you sure you're not an assassin?" asked Killua seriously.

None of them noticed that they had the proctor's full attention the second Kurt mentioned her age. Hearing how she bypassed the first protection was a bit troubling.

As long as the kid could keep up without getting killed, he wasn't going to kick her out because of age. Not that he knew the kid was a girl. He wasn't about to make a bad assumption.

When they got to the stairs, she slid the skates off with ease, and put them back in her odd book bag. She ran up the stairs without missing a beat, keeping up with Killua and Gon, who for some reason were at the front of the large pack.

Several hours later (her watch was glow in the dark) they emerged into a large swampy area.

They all took a five-minute breather while the proctor explained a few things. Killua took that chance to get a good look at Kurt. The dark lighting had made it nearly impossible to see his new acquaintance properly.

And it was no wonder. With her odd ability to vanish in front of others, and her penchant for darker clothing, it was as if she was a ghost already. The oversized shirt she had on was a very faded black color and didn't suit her. The jacket, which she used to hide the fact the shirt was nearly four sizes too large to fit her frame was a dark gray that complimented the shirt's coloring well. She had a pair of black cargo jeans with a long silver chain as a belt, though it did spill out a little from the loops since it was a bit too long for her waist. Her new shoes, which had been among the only things her aunt had bought her (Petunia took her niece on a one-time-only shopping spree for clothes and a bag) were navy blue in color. Topping it all off was a large black book bag which seemed to hold everything she owned in it.

Killua couldn't help but think Kurt made an excellent assassin. He could barely feel the kid's presence and he was standing right in front of him! Even _he_ couldn't pull that off!

When they started to run again, he noted that Kurt kept pace with him and no one else. She didn't break off when Gon went to rescue his friends.

Eventually, when they got to the next site, Killua asked why she was sticking so close to him and not Gon, who was by far more personable.

She looked him dead in the eye as she said, "I'm still debating whether or not I want to pass this exam. If I do, then I will finally be free to move on with my life. But if I don't, I'll be dead before I turn twelve. Sticking with you seems to be a safe bet on passing."

"Why would you be dead before you turn twelve?"

"I won't last another year with those people. Right now there are only three things that I would worry about killing me. This exam, my so-called family...and myself."

Killua didn't have a chance to ask what she meant by that when Gon appeared. Leorio, the aspiring medic of his group, had been carried back by Hisoka of all people.

The entire time, loud rumbling sounds that she recognized in a heartbeat were heard behind the closed doors.

"Whoever is inside that place is really hungry,"said Kurt.

"What do you mean?"

"I recognize that sound anywhere. It's a bit more amplified than what I'm used to, but that is definitely the sound of a very empty stomach. Whoever it is inside is hungry, but not at dangerous levels."

Satotsu's (proctor) eyes widened. This kid was very good to figure out that the sound was an empty stomach. His decision to allow her to continue was looking better and better every minute.

Kurt took one look at the size of the boars, twitched, then looked at Killua.

"I'll help you cook these things if you help me carry them."

"Deal. Need any help killing them?

"Not really."

The boar was dead before it could sense her presence. Killua's idea of taking up assassination was looking better every second. Unlike most girls her age, she wasn't squeamish about killing people. That's what happens when your own family wants to kill you and could care less if you died from starvation. As such, she had become very well acquainted with the darker side of human nature.

She didn't notice that one of the other rookies was shooting her odd looks the entire time...or that he had heard the conversation.

"Sushi? Really?" said Kurt in amusement.

"You know what it is?"

"Japanese culture fascinates me. So I looked up a bunch of recipes since my hobby happens to be cooking. Sushi is one of the signature dishes of the country."

"Think you can help us?" asked Kurapika. He had no idea how to make sushi.

"Sure, but I have to warn you, I can be a bit of a perfectionist."

It soon became clear that Kurt knew more about surviving in the wild than Gon did. Then again, she was more used to living in the woods than Gon was and how to tell plants apart. He didn't have to survive with the animals and his own family working against him.

With Gon and Killua supplying the fish, Kurapika and Leorio prepared the vegetables, rice and seaweed to her specifications. Once she finished it all off with the fish, the group presented their dishes.

To the shock of the proctor, they got a seal of approval from Menchi. It didn't hurt that Kurt tasted the food before even bringing it up.

Menchi looked at Kurt with approval.

"You'd make a great Gourmet Hunter kid! I haven't seen someone with your skill in a long time!"

"Thanks... To be honest I am torn between Beast and Gourmet as my career choice at the moment."

"Keep your skills up like that, and you could probably do both!"

Bolstered by their early success, many of the others tried their luck. Only a scant few actually succeeded having overheard Kurt's very detailed instructions.

To Menchi's clear disappointment, none of the other applicants managed to get her approval. Their sushi was passable, but it just wasn't the same.

"I've been meaning to ask...but who are you?" asked Kurapika.

"Call me Kurt."

"Just Kurt?"

"My...family...didn't exactly give me a name other than 'freak', and I was too busy avoiding my cousin and his gang to see if they had registered one at the public school. However one of my mother's diaries, which I found by complete accident in the attic, did have a name for one of my parents. However it was so smudged I could only make out four letters. So I go by Kurt."

Kurapika was trying not to stare at the kid. Kurt looked far too familiar, yet he couldn't pin down _why._

He had only told his friends a half truth about why he was taking the exam. Yes, he wanted revenge for his clan...but there was another reason that he was reluctant to share with the others right now.


	2. Chapter 2

After breakfast (which happened to be spider-eagle eggs, after one of the people who failed made a smart ass comment about the previous test being completely unreasonable and that cooking wasn't a real job for a Hunter) Kurapika found himself gravitating towards Kurt more often than not. The kid was very, very familiar and he intended to find out _why_.

* * *

"Well, well! I didn't expect a ten-year old to slip past our application committee!" said the chairman.

"I didn't expect my aunt to actually let me leave. Then again considering the high death rate this exam has, I should have expected it," said Kurt dryly.

"So, what is your real name?"

"I have no bloody idea. I chose Kurt because it was the only thing my mother placed in her journal that I could read that related to me."

"Normally I would have disqualified you when you mentioned that you were a year too young. But since you have managed to keep up so far, I see no reason to let you continue. Would you like to play a a game while we wait?"

Killua and Gon walked past at that time, bored. Killua's sharp ears caught their conversation as he asked "What kind of game?"

"The one where if you win, you get your Hunter's license now instead of later."

"I'm in. This blimp is kinda boring," said Killua.

"Alright then. In order to get your license, all you have to do is get this ball from me. It's as simple as that."

"Is that all?" asked Kurt.

Before Netero could blink, the ball was gone from his hand. He looked to his left. Nothing. To his right...was a bored Kurt.

"Oh ho ho! Now how did you pull that off?"

"Erasing your presence isn't nearly as hard as people make it out to be," she said blandly. She spun the ball around without letting it drop from her fingers.

"I suppose fair is fair. Unless you want to continue in the exam?"

"I didn't plan on dropping out because of a simple game. I was planning to continue even if I did win."

"In that case, I'll let you go on your way. Even if everyone else fails this exam, you'll still get the license anyway."

"Fair enough."

* * *

When they landed on the tower, it took them an hour to find a way in.

Only to find out they had ended up in a 'majority rules' test. Kurt took one look at the company and twitched.

"I hate dealing with majority rules."

"Why?" asked Gon.

"Because by and large, most people are complete idiots, and worse yet, sheep who meekly follow those who are even _slightly_ stronger than them. It's pathetic."

"The sad thing is, he's not wrong," said Killua.

Kurt didn't even twitch. If they didn't know he was actually a _she_, then it meant she could have a bit of fun later. Besides, there were some real creeps out there that liked to attack under-aged girls.

Probably why Petunia never forced her to wear skirts. She knew for a fact that Vernon was among those creeps.

"Right. Since we have the required number of people shall we proceed?" asked Kurt.

It didn't take long for them to find themselves in an arena. One that was surrounded by a _massive_ amount of open space that left little chance as to the outcome if they fell off the arena itself. Attached to one side was a scoreboard, and above the other side was a small screen.

Kurt sighed. She could see an equal number of people on the other end, and it didn't take a genius to figure out where this was going.

"One on one battles with whoever wins the most fights continues?" she asked out loud.

The intercom buzzed and they could hear the proctor chuckle.

"_You are correct. If you win three battles, you can continue. Fail, and you're stuck here until the test is over and you have to come back next year. Coincidentally, the longer they keep you here, the shorter their sentence."_

Kurt nodded, then turned to the others.

"These guys are either going to stall us or take us out slowly to earn more time. Hit them hard, hit them fast, and don't be ashamed to punt them off the edge of the arena."

Killua snickered darkly.

"I love the way you think. These guys are probably pansies anyway."

"So...who fights first?" asked Leorio.

"Like I said, we hit hard and fast. Let's see who they bring out before I send one of you in," said Kurt.

They listened to her intently. She was a sound strategist, whose primary concern was passing this exam.

When the first inmate walked onto the platform, she analyzed his actions. Then she sent Killua to take him out. Once the match began, the man was dead.

One by one she sent out a specific person to deal with the inmates. Out of the five, only Leorio lost. Since they had a three win lead, they were allowed to leave the arena...but not before Killua killed the last inmate before he got too close.

"Not bad. Though I still wish this idiot hadn't lost us _fifty_ hours simply because he was being a perv," said Kurt, glaring at Leorio.

"For the last time..."

"Just be grateful I didn't consider strangling you. I told you three times, hard and fast so we could get through this with plenty of time. But _noooo,_ you had to see what was under her clothes, and it was clear she wasn't even a 'B' cup!"

"Why the hell weren't you blushing at the sight of her? I can get Killua, being an assassin and all..." said Kurapika. (They had covered Gon's eyes in time, even though Kurt was right next to him.)

"Why should I care about her when I'll probably see them in a mirror in a couple of years anyway?" said Kurt rhetorically.

"Come again?" asked Leorio.

"I said I'll probably see them in a mirror at some point anyway," repeated Kurt.

"...Kurt, are you by any chance a girl?" asked Leorio carefully.

"And it took you this long to figure it out dumbass?"

Killua, Gon and Kurapika stared at her with their mouths gaping.

"You're a girl?! But why's your name Kurt?" said Killua.

"It was the only thing I could find in my mom's diary about my name that I could read. None of my family ever called me by my real name, if they even knew it."

"Do you have the diary on you? I'm a fair hand at deciphering ancient runes. A few smudged letters aren't that much different."

Kurt looked at Kurapika, before handing him the book. He soon opened it and went to reading. Leorio noted that Kurapika's eyebrows rose rather high in surprise, and that his mouth looked fairly close to dropping in shock.

Finally he handed it back and they looked at him expectantly.

"Your real name is Luna."

Kurt gave him a look.

"How the hell did you find that? I went over four times and not once did it mention the word 'Luna'."

"No, but it did mention the name of a woman named Karina. Someone who owed your father a life debt."

"So?"

"Karina is _my_ mother's name. And I happen to remember her naming my half-sister Luna."

"Wait, hold on a second here. Kurapika, you said your clan was massacred and that you were the only one left!"

"It was. However my half-sister never _lived_ with the clan and was supposed to be raised by her father and his wife. At least, that was the plan until the goblins informed us they were killed and that she had gone missing."

"Why didn't she live with you?" asked Gon.

"According to the diary, Lily Evans had a disease as a child that made it nearly impossible for her to bear children. So they went to someone who owed her husband a life debt and asked them to be the surrogate for them. The last entry was on October 31st eight and a half years ago. After that it just stops," said Kurt. Until she had a blood test, she would call herself Kurt.

"If that's the case, then why do you call yourself Kurt?" asked Killua.

"Because of the clan Karina belonged to. Her full name was Karina _Kurta._ From what I can tell the last letter was smudged deliberately."

"Isn't there any way to tell if she really is your sister?"

"There is, but from what I can tell it might be hard for her to pull off. Her little trick to remain invisible like that takes extreme emotional control from what I understand," said Kurapika.

"What are you talking about?" asked Kurt.

"The Scarlet Eyes. Since my mother acted as a surrogate it would mean that if you were in fact my missing half-sister, you would have them as well. Blood adoption may have changed your eye color to green, but it can't cover up that particular trait since it's directly inherited. But in order to change your eye color you would have to experience extreme emotions," said Kurapika.

"Would anger work?" asked Kurt.

"Yes. I sometimes slip and they turn red whenever I see spiders."

Kurt sat down...and for a moment did nothing...then when she opened her eyes again, Kurapika's breath caught. They were scarlet red.

"If I ever find who put me with those...creatures...they'll wish they had died."

"Well at least we know one thing Kurt," said Killua. To be honest he was trying not to look her in the eye at the moment. Her trick with the invisibility and now the red eyes really freaked him out at the moment.

"And what's that?" she asked him, her eyes going back to a bright emerald-green.

"You still have family you can tolerate?"

"Hmm. True. But I still want a blood test to confirm it," said Kurt.

"Fair enough," said Kurapika.

Ten hours in, Kurt fell asleep since she was used to staying awake for several days at a time. If anyone noted the fact that her head was in Kurapika's lap, they said nothing.

* * *

It all came down to whether or not to take the long way or the short way. Kurt was pretty much in a mood to geld Leorio for using up most of their precious time because of a dumb bet. Said aspiring medic was staying far from her or keeping Kurapika between them for obvious reasons.

Killua was betting with Gon on how long it would take for Kurt to snap and kill someone since learning the horse wasn't even her blood relation and that she had a brother who would have jumped at the chance to take her in if he knew where she was.

All in all, things were rather strained in the group.

Kurt gave the wall a speculative look.

"How thick do you think these walls are?"

"At least a foot and a half. Why?" asked Kurapika.

"Do you think we could break the walls down Kurt?" asked Gon.

"That is exactly what I was thinking. You guys break it down, I'll supply the food I swiped from the blimp so you can keep your energy up."

"Where do you come up with these weird ideas?" asked Leorio, picking up an axe.

"You have to learn how to think _outside_ the box when you're avoiding a small pig shaped human who's only thought is to beat you bloody. Or worse, the walrus shaped human who has no issues with giving you a concussion if you can't hide fast enough."

Between the boys hacking away at the wall and Kurt's extra supplies that she stole from the blimp when no one had the presence of mind to do the same, the wall went crumbling down in short order.

It didn't hurt that Kurt apparently knew some relaxation tricks with her hands that helped to relieve the strain the muscles they were using to bring down the wall.

After that it was only a matter of using Killua's skateboard on a large board they had removed from the wall steered by Gon's fishing pole to get to the bottom on time.

The door opened barely a minute after they skidded to a stop. Needless to say Gon was highly impressed that Kurt had eyes like his own. Between the two of them, they had managed to keep from crashing into the walls. Though he did wonder why the bow and arrows she had taken from the walls and put in her bag didn't make the book bag bulge. If he hadn't seen her do it in between the turns they took breaking the wall, he wouldn't have known she had it.

* * *

"So let me get this straight. We have to find treasure...when most of the good stuff is more than likely at the bottom of the ocean...just to get a room?" said Kurt slowly.

"Pretty much," said Kurapika. They had created something akin to an alliance. Until proven otherwise, Kurt had decided to stick close to Kurapika.

"Right... I'll guard the treasure while you dive."

"Aren't you interested in seeing wrecks?" asked Kurapika.

"Let me rephrase that... I'll stay on the ships so you don't have to give me CPR since I don't know how to swim."

"Ah. Let's see what we can dig up without swimming then..."

Kurt looked around, using her eyes to pick out likely targets. Something Kurapika didn't know was that she had the odd ability to see energy types. Ever since she unlocked the ability to go 'invisible' for lack of a better term, she had been able to see things most people didn't.

She made her way to a medium-sized boat that was dyed a red color. She could see a very strong, stable form of energy coming from it and she wanted to know what it was.

She went in and found a small pendant in the shape of a lizard like creature made of gold and rubies. Kurapika went in after her...and his face hardened.

"What is it?"

"This ship belonged to the Kurta clan. Judging by the condition it's in, I don't think the crew was hit by the Spiders."

"How can you tell?"

"That pendant. It's a protective amulet that belongs only to the Kurta clan. It's supposed to protect the wearer from those who would break into their minds, most poisons, and even powers that would control them. I've never heard of it actually being put into use, but the power it's supposed to hold is said to last for a hundred years at least before beginning to fade."

"I think there might be some merit to it. This thing has some sort of odd energy coming off of it."

"How can you tell?"

"I can see energy. Every since I perfected my invisibility trick, I can see the energy all around me. Hisoka and that pin guy have the same trick I think, because they have a similar aura."

"Please tell me you aren't considering approaching them..."

"Not at the moment, no."

"Right...let's find some more treasure. You can keep that around your neck for the time being."

"Okay. I'll keep an eye on the treasure you bring up," said Kurt.

Before they went to get their rooms, Kurt vanished for a moment and came back with an odd stone in her pocket. She had also swiped a few books from a slightly more modern looking ship that had crashed on the other side of the island. Aside from the rock and the books, it was clear that whoever had been sailing in the ship had managed to escape, because it was picked clean by someone who knew what they were doing.

They managed to get a second class room together and later burned the Kurta clan ship in order to give the bodies inside a proper burial.


	3. Chapter 3

Kurt managed to break away from Kurapika, who was trying to organize the remaining people to fix the ship. Before she had gone to bed, she had read a little bit of the books she had found. Halfway through the first chapter, she snagged a few hairs from her roommate and a few of her own and asked the hotel owners for a favor. The second she saw the bit about the storm that happened once every ten years on the island, she _knew_ that the reason they were dropped there was part of the exam.

Probably to escape while the old couple left them to fend for themselves.

So she had them take both hair samples in the envelope to do a blood test. What better way to make the most out of a useless situation than to see if Kurapika was telling the truth about being her half-brother?

* * *

While she was exploring the island, she ran into Hisoka.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the little Nen girl..."

"Nen? What the hell is Nen?" she asked.

Hisoka looked at her with some amusement

"Nen is the power you are using to make yourself invisible to everyone. Unless you didn't know what it was..."

"All I knew was ever since I mastered how to go invisible, I could see weird lights with my eyes."

Hisoka chuckled.

"You're a Nen prodigy and didn't even know it. To be able to use Gyo without knowing the name or how to shut it off... you must have massive reserves. You'll make an interesting opponent later on."

"Well since we're on the subject, mind explaining a few things for me? Not like we'll have anything better to do once those idiots figure out that the storm is going to hit."

"You knew there was going to be a massive storm?"

She held up a book, which was clearly a travel log.

"Found this on the other side of the island. Apparently the owners of the boat knew about the weather phenomenon and decided to come watch it first hand. They crashed their boat but missed a few things when they cleared it out. This storm will last a few days and will be beyond strong. Though the first wave is said to be quite interesting to watch."

Hisoka gave her one of his more...terrifying smiles as he explained the basics of Nen to her, as well as the types. From what she could tell, her type was the rare kind that allowed mastery over all the others. And that she was halfway between creating a technique to suit her personality and a rather interesting trick.

Even Hisoka was stumped as to how she had been able to keep it up like a shield for the past three years without passing out from exhaustion.

Though she did learn something Netero failed to tell her. Because she was instinctively able to use Gyo, which allowed any basic Nen user to see certain wavelengths, she had unknowingly passed the hidden test for all aspiring Hunters.

When the sun began to go down, she did something that would have Kurapika's mental state be in a rather...tense...position.

She stayed inside one of the cannon barrels to watch the storm. The other one was occupied by the pin-headed applicant with Hisoka sitting on the outside.

* * *

Kurt knew a great way to help out without actually doing something. She borrowed Gon's fishing pole and had a few of the others catch large amounts of fish...and then bribed Hisoka and the pin headed one to help her prepare them.

By the time lunch rolled around, everyone had their noses twitching from the smells in the kitchens. Eventually Kurt began to roll out several large tables that had food one could simply grab and eat on the go. Several of the others hit the tables pretty hard as they continued on with what they were doing, and no one asked Kurt to help considering she was doing the cooking.

Though there was no way in _hell_ she was going to clean up the kitchens. She had her hands full cooking the large amount of finger foods for everyone else!

Eventually things calmed down...but Leorio still hadn't come back up. She went and found Gon immediately the second she heard he hadn't come up.

Gon went down...and ten minutes later she knew something went wrong. The underwater currents were strong enough to move whatever ship Leorio found. And with the type of items he had been retrieving, being pinned was a serious concern.

She tied a strong metal chain to her waist, making sure it didn't put pressure on only one side of her body, before jumping in. within seconds a strange bubble appeared around her face allowing her to breath. She had no idea what created it, only that she could now help the others.

She sank like a stone...and quickly found the two missing idiots. (And yes, she _is_ lumping Gon with Leorio at the moment). She quickly figured out how to move and then pinched Gon. She noted with interest that another 'bubble' appeared around his head and he took deep breaths of air. He managed to free Leorio when the lights suddenly went off.

Fortunately Hisoka had prepared for this, because he was waiting with a large fog light aimed at the ocean.

Gon and Leorio held onto her when she jiggled the chain, telling the pin head that she had them.

It was still odd that she had become friends with those two. Then again both openly admitted they were extremely impressed with her invisibility trick, and the fact she could sneak up on them every time. Apparently that hadn't happened to them since they were actually rookies.

"Kurapika, get your ass in gear! Gon and Leorio are back up top!"

"_We are going to have a discussion about your suicidal tendencies when this is over."_

"Only if you can find me! ...And if that blood test I asked the chairman to do for me comes back positive..."

"_...Where the hell did you get a sample...?"_

Kurt smirked.

"Next time, clean your hairbrush out better. Lifting a few strands was too easy."

* * *

Kurapika didn't notice that the old woman handed Kurt something as soon as she ran into her. He did, however, see the girl thank the old woman profusely with a genuine smile on her face.

He couldn't help but think a smile suited her more than her standard expressionless face.

When he caught up to the girl, she was actually grinning. She had taken a look at the paper after the old woman had given it to her.

Kurapika took one look at the results, before giving a sigh of relief.

Kurt was his missing sister Luna. The DNA profile showed that the two had a very large number of strands (_A/N: I watch a lot of CSI occasionally. So sue me.)_ were the same, which only happened when the two people were directly related to each other...such as direct siblings.

"I guess this means I should start to call you Kurapika-nii..." said Kurt.

"Or Nii-san. Of course you do realize what this means don't you?"

"I actually have family I don't want to kill painfully?"

"No, it means we now have a legitimate excuse to kill Albus Dumbledore."

Kurt laughed...and it sent shivers down her newly found older brother's spine.

"Why kill him when we could do something much worse? I happen to know how to do something that will lock him in his body, unable to move anything other than his eyelids for the rest of his life."

"How would you do that?" asked Kurapika, morbidly curious.

"There is a condition called 'locked in syndrome', which when a very specific set of nerve clusters are pinched in the correct manner, makes movement impossible. There is no cure to it, and the victim is essentially stuck in their own body unable to move ever again. The eyelids, which move automatically, are the only thing unaffected by this condition."

"...How the hell do you know about this?"

"I read medical textbooks sometimes, and they had the description of the symptoms, but didn't say how to do it. According to the book, you could just as easily break the person's neck."

"Either way, Dumbledore will be out of our hair."

* * *

"The next part of the exam is a badge battle. In order to pass, you must have your badge...and the badge of the number you just drew. Both of those badges will be worth three points. If you can manage to collect the badges of the other applicants, which are worth one point each, you will pass anyway. You must accumulate at least six points before the end of the week."

"Alright everyone! Would you all line up in the order you left the tower?" called the perky woman who had come along. Why, Kurt had no idea, but she certainly couldn't read the mood worth a damn.

Kurt was hanging out near Killua since for some odd reason they had managed to get targets which were one number apart...and that she had seen Killua's number in the hands of _her_ target. When she mentioned this (and noted that her target tended to stick around his brothers) the two decided to tag team against the three brothers.

It had the added perk of giving her an excuse to avoid Kurapika for a week and give her time to come to terms with the fact she had a brother who would cheerfully help her kill her _victims_ when she gave him the full scope of how badly they had treated her.

Plus hanging around Killua was actually fun. Listening to his description of his family was what she considered quality entertainment.

* * *

Illumi blinked when he found Kurt sitting in the branch above Hisoka. Apparently she had tag teamed with his brother to retrieve her badge and went to find the insane clown.

Strangely, she seemed to know instinctively that Hisoka wouldn't try to kill her if only because her little invisibility trick interested him so much. However if he went into his..._bloodthirsty_...mode she was going to go find Killua until it died down.

Kurt didn't even blink when she saw him take out the pins and change...however she did say something rather interesting when she saw his face and bone structure.

"You wouldn't by any chance be Killua's older brother Illumi, would you?"

"How did you know?" he asked surprised.

"Killua mentioned his rather...interesting...family and how his older brother Illumi scares the living hell out of him when he's pissed. And your facial structure is similar enough to him for you to be related, but your age makes me think brother since you're clearly too young to be his father."

"How did you know I was Illumi though?"

"He said the only other brother who's older than him is fat as hell, and you are about as skinny as a scarecrow. Simple deduction after that."

Illumi made a note to speak to Killua once he got the boy to go home. Revealing something like that to a stranger was a bad idea in the line of assassination.

Though considering who they were talking about, Killua probably didn't think twice about it. Kurt was an unusually good assassin and by her own admission she had never trained in the art.

If she got any stronger the chances his parents would match her up with Killua or himself were very high...particularly if she did something to impress them...

* * *

Kurt managed to find Kurapika...in a cave...full of poisonous snakes...who were pissed at the group.

_'What did they do to piss you off?'_ she asked the snakes. They were surprised to find a speaker nearby, so they answered.

_'I'm afraid I can't allow you to kill them just yet. The medium one who doesn't stink of honey happens to be my hatchling mate. Is it possible you could let them out? They would most likely leave you to guard your partner...'_

The snakes hissed among themselves...before opening a small path. Gon, who had likely heard the entire thing with that hearing of his, convinced the others to go through before the snakes changed their mind.

Kurapika looked at his sister in surprise when he realized she had just spoken to the snakes.

"You're a parselmouth?"

"A _what_?"

"Snake speaker."

"Oh that. I can speak to more than just snakes, but attracting attention is one of the things I learned early on never to do, so I just ignore it."

Kurapika tried not to growl, and more or less succeeded.

"I think I'll go look the other way while Leorio gets the last badge. Maybe Killua will play rummy with me again while we wait for the others."

"You get along rather well with him," Kurapika noted.

"Similar skill sets, similar thought patterns. He's easier to get along with than Gon in some situations...and he's not naïve."

Their group passed...but not before Kurapika nearly had a heart attack that she had somehow gotten on speaking terms with Hisoka...over her invisibility trick...and that he considered her a worthy opponent.

* * *

Netero looked at Kurt with some amusement. Aside from the rather interesting request, Kurt had shown several traits all good Hunters had.

Finding out the girl was a Nen prodigy and hadn't known it was a bit surprising, though it did explain her trick of turning invisible.

"Now then, who do you want to fight?"

"Killua, Gon or that archer guy."

"And avoid?"

"Hisoka, pin head, and Kurapika."

"Thank you, that will be all."

"...Is this going to be a tournament style thing where the winners get their license and the loser has to come back next year?"

"Maybe..."

"Then can I make a suggestion? Make my battle the last of the first round and I'll claim to give up for the remainder of the tournament. That way they all pass. You can just claim that little trick with the storm was part of the fourth round or something."

"Ohoho! I like the way you think! Get them all prepared to fight for their license then pull the rug out from under them! And since you won yours before the third round, everyone wins!"

"I just want this over with. My newly found brother and I want to have words with an old man who plays with sticks."

"Fortunately for you, the Hunter's Association doesn't have any jurisdiction over crimes in the Magical Communities, just as they don't have any hold on ours. Never thought I would see someone become a Hunter before a witch though."

"What?"

"I'll explain to you later, when the exam is over. Right now I have to interview the others!" said Netero cheerfully.

"What did he want?"

"Oh he's planning a rather boring tournament. Since the chances of me actually surviving that are next to nil, I came up with a rather amusing plan that he agreed to since I already earned my license in a little contest he had between the younger participants before the third task."

"What?"

"He said if we took a bright red ball from him as a way of amusing himself before he dropped us off, we would get our license then and there. I was the only one to succeed to my knowledge, so I already got mine. I just wanted to make it look like I got it with the rest of you."


	4. Chapter 4

Dumbledore looked at his devices curiously. Several of the bloody things didn't even work, and those that did barely twitched half the time. When he had Arabella look into the Dursley house, she confirmed the girl was still there.

However recently the girl had been missing since January. Petunia told the neighbors that the brat had gone to try her luck in becoming a Hunter, and she couldn't care less if the brat came back.

It had taken him a good week to remember where he heard that term, and when he did his scowl was particularly impressive. Why?

Because Hunters weren't obligated to go to Hogwarts, and since the chances of a magical child becoming a Hunter before eleven were so remote, the issue had never come up. And once they were in Hogwarts, even if they did later become Hunters they were essentially under the rule of the Ministries by that point.

So the issue of the reverse happening had never properly come up. Since Hunters were classified as legal adults in all ways that mattered, they became emancipated the moment they passed both the official and the hidden exam. Which meant that if the girl passed and survived the encounter, she was out of his control!

He quickly made his way to Zaban city in the hopes of preventing her from passing the secondary exam, which would forever take her out of the Ministry's reach. The treaty they had made when the Hunter Association realized they existed and proved that memory wiping wasn't going to work was the only thing that kept them from interfering with each other. The goblins, ever practical, had their own treaty.

Which essentially meant the Archeology and Beast Hunters had a rather interesting set of partners to help with the finds and kills. They also handled most of the money for them, for a small fee.

Kurt was not impressed by Gon's stubbornness. If anything, it annoyed her greatly. He was probably going to be surprised to learn the whole thing was a farce that she had cooked up at the last second with the chairman. He found the idea of pulling one on the candidates so amusing that he couldn't wait for the next round to begin.

Finally, it was her turn. And like she had requested, it was against Killua.

Before he had a chance to give up in favor of a better opponent, she did something uncharacteristic.

She drew the bow and arrow she had swiped from the tower and shot at him. He dodged easily, but she soon had him on the run as she kept firing. She put her running skills to good use, often ducking his attacks to collect her arrows.

Eventually she put the bow back up, and went at him in earnest.

Killua was put on the defensive rather quickly, as her invisibility trick worked against him.

Even if he knew she was there and that she was right next to him, her ability to shift his perception made it very hard to tell which angle she was coming from until the very last second.

When he was about to get serious for once, she pinned him in a headlock with a knife to his throat and said "I give up."

The silence was palpable.

"Uh...what?" said the proctor.

"I give up. I only wanted to test myself against him. I'm forfieting from this little tournament."

Everyone was in shock. Then the chairman began to laugh. Their expressions were priceless.

"Sir?"

"Since Kurt-chan has decided to drop out of the tournament, it means the rest of you pass!" he said amused.

Most were rather off-put by the way it all ended. When Kurt showed up at the room to hear the duties of the Hunter and the meaning of the license they now carried, they were confused.

Hearing she had played a game with the Chairman before the third test and won in exchange for her license early gave them all the reason they needed to see why she forfeited right as she was about to win.

She had already passed. She just wanted it over with. The only difference was that anyone who had passed the previous round passed automatically. The chairman was just playing a lighthearted joke on them.

* * *

"So you want to know why Killua went home when he recently ran away from there?" asked Luna. Ever since the blood test, she had forgone her previous name in favor of the one Kurapika said was her birth name.

"Yeah. We should head to where his family lives and find out!" said Gon enthusiastically.

"I may have an idea why he went," said Luna.

"Huh?"

"His brother Illumi was in the exam. He was the one who helped train Killua, and the one that's he's afraid of. My guess is that Illumi told him to go home and actually get permission first," said Luna.

"How did you know his brother was here?"

"He was the pin head guy."

Seeing their eyes bug out made her snicker. Still, since Gon was the one to bring them together and letting him go alone was beyond idiotic, they went to the region the Zoldyck clan was known to live in.

"So basically we have a choice between the fake door and the one that will be impossible to open without a minimum of training."

"Unless you want to get eaten by Mike," said the guard amused.

"Right. You guys go ahead and train, I'll go see how Killua's doing."

"Are you sure you can get that far?" asked Kurapika worried.

"Even with the invisibility trick, I learned the hard way to avoid detection. Chances are they don't have much before the mansion, and if that's the case all I need to do is find Killua without Mike bothering me. By the way, what does Mike look like anyway?"

"Your spiked friend asked the same thing, so you can see for yourself. Just be careful. Even if you have some skill with animals, Mike isn't normal."

"He's little more than claws and teeth who can be directed by the Zoldyck family isn't he?" she asked.

"How did you know?"

"I can tell by the way you talk about him. He might be an animal, but he's little more than a robot. Once we're out of his area I'll split off."

Half an hour later, when they reached the smaller hut, Luna vanished before everyone. Since none of the others paid any mind, neither did the guards.

They heard the door open and shut, and like that, she was gone.

* * *

_'So this is the Zoldyck mansion. Rather impressive.'_

The Butlers, apparently didn't have an experience in Nen. And according to Illumi and Hisoka, it would take Gyo to even detect her presence. Her invisibility was of mostly Nen origin with a hint of something else.

Fortunately, the only ones with Nen experience were the family.

When she entered what appeared to be a torture chamber, she found Killua. He was being held up by chains, though from the relaxed state he was in, it didn't bother him.

What bothered her was the fat pig who reminded her painfully of her supposed cousin Dudley. When he went to bring the whip up to hit the silver haired boy, she tripped him. The fool went down in a pile of blubber. She was sickened beyond belief at the sight of him.

Buhara, one of the proctors of the Exam, didn't make her feel this sickened. Possibly because unlike the other...large...people she had come across he didn't ooze arrogance and brutality.

She heard a surprise shout. She looked up to find an old man staring at the fat fool. When he went to hit Killua again, she kicked him in the knee and deftly avoided the falling fat.

Almost immediately she could sense the old one trying to find out what made the fat one trip twice.

Finally his eyes settled on her and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Well now, it seems we have an uninvited guest. How did you get this far in without one of the Butlers detecting you?"

She dropped her trick and watched with satisfaction the look of shock. Apparently he could just make out her shape, not her appearance.

"According to Illumi, I have a natural Nen defense that renders me completely invisible. Killua in particular had difficulty countering it until the last second, and he was looking for it."

At his name, the silver haired boy woke up with surprise to find his friend there.

"Kurt, what the hell? How did you get into the mansion?!"

"It's Luna now. As for how I got in, the same way I managed to pin you with a knife to your throat. Clearly your...Butlers...as Illumi called them, can't see through my invisibility trick."

"This is most interesting. Why did you come in here anyway little girl?"

"I only came in here to see how Killua was doing. The fat pig here just annoyed me greatly, and I enjoyed tripping him."

"You do realize that you aren't going to be allowed to leave until we figure out how to respond to you getting in here."

"Just let me alert my brother and his friends as to why I haven't come back first," she replied.

Once she alerted Kurapika and the others as to what happened, her newly found brother was naturally unhappy but as long as she was safe he could live with it.

* * *

Killua watched his grandfather with interest. Kurt...no, Luna, had gotten the interest of his family without even realizing it. He had known his family would have been intrigued about her trick of going invisible, but for her to actually succeed in getting into the mansion and tripping his fat ass brother was the final nail in her coffin. Depending on how his father acted towards her, she could be killed.

"Killua, what do you know about that girl?" asked his grandfather.

"Not much. She came into the Hunter Exam a year too early, though the proctors didn't care. She was the first person there too, if her badge was any indication. She said she was there because she no other options left to her."

"Oh?"

"Something about if she didn't leave her family she would be dead before she reached 12. From what I can tell, her family didn't exactly want her there. She was able to keep up with us, though."

"Interesting. What about that trick of hers? I didn't even notice her until she made a move."

"I have no idea. Whatever it is, I could just barely see her outline when we were fighting in the last part of the exam, and it took everything I had to even do that. She's a natural archer from the way she handled that bow, though she didn't have it before the third exam. When I asked if she was an assassin, she said she wasn't and that she had no formal training."

"A natural assassin. Now that is rare."

"The only odd thing was that we all thought she was a boy until she flat out told us she was a girl."

His grandfather chuckled. The more he heard, the most intrigued he was about the girl. And Illumi had alluded to a child who could avoid even his natural senses and didn't even blink at his aura. That spoke volumes about her temperament.

She was too interesting to kill outright. And to make it even better, she was definitely a natural Nen prodigy with large reserves.

He went to talk to his son. This girl could prove useful.

* * *

Illumi came back to the mansion and found a rather...odd...guest in one of the rooms.

His grandfather had called him back from his last assignment to question him on the exam. Specifically the youngest member of the entire thing.

Seeing the girl from before reading a book on killing techniques only gave him more questions. Guests weren't allowed in the mansion, ever. They couldn't be permitted since Alluka could get them to use her powers.

Though from what he knew of Kurt, she most likely wouldn't bother with the wishing ability. The only thing she wanted to do was kill the man who placed her with her 'relatives' and kill said family. And it was clear she wanted to do it on her own.

"Grandfather, why is she here?"

"She broke into the mansion. According to her, she wanted to see how Killua was doing in order to keep one of the more foolish members from doing something stupid."

Illumi thought back to the group she was somewhat apart of, and guessed it had to do with the boy who had caught Killua's attention.

"Is she the same girl you spoke of from the exam?"

"She is."

"A natural assassin, and a nen prodigy with large reserves to boot. And she didn't even blink when she saw Killua tied up. She's too interesting to let go just yet."

"We're not going to kill her?"

"Not unless she does something like try to find Alluka or kill one of us. So far all she's done is tell her brother where she was and read."

* * *

As it turned out, Luna didn't need to find Alluka, the youngest and most dangerous of the family. The little girl found her. Or at the very least her power did.

_Who are you?_

Luna blinked, her reading disrupted.

_Who are you?_

**...Who's there? I know you aren't physically near me, because my senses would have picked you up.**

_I'm Alluka. Who are you?_

Siding on the better side of caution, she decided to go by the name she gave herself.

**I'm Kurt. Hello.**

_Can you come and play with me?_

**I'm sorry Alluka. But I am afraid the owners of this house would take it ill if I walked around looking for someone I don't even know. They are still trying to figure out whether they want to kill me or not for breaking in.**

_That's too bad Onee-san. No one ever comes to play with me._

**Perhaps when things are different I could play with you. Since I can easily read while talking, would chatting work for you instead?**

Alluka brightened up. While it was too bad the new presence couldn't play, she still offered to talk to her. That was more that her family ever did. They were all too scared of her powers, and it made her sad. The only person who would even come see her anymore was Killua.

And so the two girls talked well into the night, until Kurt went to sleep. Alluka was happy to have someone who wasn't afraid of her or her power.


	5. Chapter 5

Zeno, when he finally found out that Alluka apparently sensed and contacted the girl, was torn between killing her and keeping her there for the remainder of her life.

When he learned the girl not only had no use for Alluka's power and somehow managed to keep the most feared member of the Zoldyck family under control, he knew something had to be done. This...Luna, or Kurt as she sometimes called herself, was far too useful and talented to allow her skills to rust.

So he decided on an agreement, if he could convince the brother. Silva's wife had despaired of ever having a daughter she could train, and she wanted an apprentice but was unable to have one because of Alluka. And Luna was skilled enough to take on and if given time could become strong enough to qualify as a wife to the family.

Killua wasn't opposed to hanging out with Luna, surprisingly enough, and the girl liked him well enough.

* * *

Zeno went to the guard's little house and waited until the blond showed up. He tensed, following the visual cues of the guards, but was willing to talk.

"I'll be honest, normally we would kill intruders on the spot for coming that far into our grounds. However your sister interests us and has skills we could help her improve on."

"What do you want to do to her?"

"My son's wife has been wanting an apprentice to train for years now, but was unable to take one on due to certain circumstances. We would be willing to overlook the fact she managed to break in to our home if you would allow her to become an apprentice to our family. Your sister is a natural assassin and it would be a crime to let that skill and talent go to waste."

"She would be safe though right? She wouldn't be forced to kill against her will?"

"At most she would be in training for a few months or years if that. We would work up to killing later."

"I don't like the idea of my little sister becoming an assassin, but to be honest she would probably be safer as one than if she went with me. Because of our clan, many people are after us and if The Spiders ever learned of her existence she could be killed."

"Why would the Genrei Ryoudan care about either of you?"

"We're the last of the Kurta clan."

"Hmm. That does pose a few problems. Still, we have an agreement?"

"It's up to her really. If she wants to become an assassin, I won't stand in her way. I don't want to lose her when I have been looking for her for years."

"Fair enough."

* * *

Zeno went to inform Silva and Kikyou of the news...if the girl agreed. At the very least, becoming Kikyou's apprentice would solve most of the problems with her break in.

"An apprenticeship?" asked Luna, her eyes wide.

"You're a natural assassin. And if you became an apprentice we could easily overlook the fact you broke into our mansion."

Luna thought it over. It wasn't a hard decision, since Killua's comments did perk her interest. And unlike most people she had no issues with the darker aspects of human nature like death.

"What did my brother have to say?"

"He said he would respect your decision."

"In that case, where do we start? I must admit my interest in that career was perked after Killua kept asking me if I was an assassin like him."

"I have to warn you, we won't go easy on you at all. You will have to go through hell to survive."

"With all due respect, I have to tell you that you have no idea what hell is. I have lived through hell my entire life, and I sincerely doubt you could possibly match what I went through."

"That's the kind of spirit I expect. We'll start in the morning."

* * *

As it turned out, Kikyou's training with Luna didn't start until a week later. Killua had already left the mansion to travel with Gon for a bit, after getting his father's permission. While his mother wasn't happy about it, she contented herself with the fact she now had an apprentice to train for the next few months.

Though the girl would have to get up to an acceptable weight class before they could actually begin. Kikyou had been properly horrified to find out the girl had ribs showing as well as several poorly healed over wounds. When asked, all she said was that she was stuck with people who hated her very existence and often refused to feed her.

While she couldn't start any heavy lifting until she healed properly and was eating normally, she could start on some of the more...mental aspects of her new job. Kikyou was pleased the girl wasn't squeamish in the least, and took to learning the ins and out of most weapons with fervor.

As Killua had noted, she had an unusual ability to use bows and arrows. Kikyou quickly tested her and found Luna had a naturally sharp eyesight for small details. Add that to her odd sixth sense whenever someone was in a specific area or even close by and it was easy to capitalize on the girl's Nen senses.

It was clear she would have to work on improving her ability to pick a thrown coin from midair in full daylight with the sun against her to use.

Once Luna had enough weight on her to properly begin her training, she understood why Zeno called it hell. To any child born in a normal family, such rigorous and relentless training would be called hell by them. To her it was more of a test of her ability to thrive.

The Zoldyck clan seemed to enjoy her nature, throwing whatever they safely could at her. While they were pitiless and merciless while on a job, they did have limits. What little she admitted to when it came to her so-called family in England sent them into a murderous temperament.

They seemed to consider her one of their own, particularly when they found out that she could keep Alluka from getting too out of hand with her overwhelming ability.

She didn't dare tell them that they were going about it completely the wrong way. Alluka wasn't a monster any more than the alternate personality she had been. She just didn't know how to control it.

The entire reason it was so powerful and had connected to her so easily was because both of their Nen abilities stemmed from the same source.

Alluka was a witch who had awakened her Nen too early, and it had overwhelmed her. If given time or training, she could possibly learn to bring that power under control. However locking her in a room with little or no contact wasn't going to help in the long run.

Someone would eventually notice her magical power spilling out, and then all hell would break loose.

As it was, Luna decided to befriend the lonely girl in the hopes of helping her learn how to bring that power under control, seeing as she also needed to learn how.

* * *

_Four months later..._

Luna ran through the forest of the Zoldyck clan to get some air. She had progressed far beyond what they had expected within that small time frame, and soon would be available to take on jobs with Illumi as a test run.

It would also give her a chance to meet the goblins to settle some discrepancies in her account.

The goblins went through the Hunter Association to contact the newbies to give them an account to place their cash free of charge. When they found her name and were given the remaining sample she had handed over to see if Kurapika was in fact her brother, they had been surprised to find she was the missing Potter heir.

Because she had become a Hunter before the letters even went out, she was given unrestricted access to her parents accounts...including the vault of Lily Evans, her adopted mother.

Luna had decided to wait until she was cleared to leave the estate before meeting with them, claiming that her apprenticeship couldn't be put on hold until she was ready to face the world again. Considering the fact that the Zoldycks were known to the goblins (and even hired by the creatures once or twice) they accepted her excuse with grace.

She had been rather surprised when she heard from Kurapika on her birthday though. As far as she had known, July 31rst was her birthday. At least, that was what she had heard from Petunia Dursley.

Kurapika informed her that her birthday was actually in April, the 18th in fact. July 31rst was the day that James announced her to the magical world, claiming Lily wanted to have her daughter in their own home with the war. Only a few close friends knew that Luna was in fact Lily's adopted child, born from a surrogate James would not name. Since she had green eyes like Lily, no one questioned the age difference.

Had he known how much the date of the blood adoption of his sister had mattered, he would have been really upset. Dumbledore had counted on the fact Luna Potter had been born on the end of July to fulfill a prophecy created by a half stoned woman.

He had no idea that the spy he had ignored in favor of a prophecy would later ruin his plans.

Had he known that the prophecy itself was about the son of the Longbottoms, he wouldn't have left an innocent child in the hands of monsters like Petunia Dursley.

Nor how it would bring about his downfall. His actions changed the prophecy as his interpretations caused it to focus on him instead of Voldemort like it was supposed to originally.

* * *

"Lady Potter, it is a pleasure to meet you," said the goblin.

"Likewise, keeper of the vaults. I apologize for not appearing sooner, however my training could not be put off if I was to advance in my teacher's grace."

"Understandable. Now, as we discussed on the phone, there have been some rather worrying discrepancies in your account. We have investigate the problem and learned several goblins were being paid to overlook the theft of artifacts and gold. They have since been dispatched."

"I thank you for your promptness."

"We are still in the process of finding the thief, and have since moved all of the property and gold from your vaults into a deluxe account free of charge. If you desire, you may access it from the magical equivalent in London with no fee. The thief has tried to access it from there, but because of the change has been kept from further reducing your account."

"Thank you, Master Griphook."

"Now, onto more pressing matters. You are aware that as a magical descendant you are recommended to either attend classes or at least pass the standard tests in order to control your magical power, correct?"

"I was unaware of magic until Chairman Netero informed me of the other communities. And frankly I doubt I would enjoy attending one of their schools."

"Self study is possible, but not recommended by any of the wizards. I'll have you marked down as home schooled to prevent any trouble."

"There is a slight problem with that. I currently know of another witch in my residence, however her early awakening to Nen has caused her magical ability to spiral out of control to the point where they had to restrict any contact with others. Is there anything I could get to help her control her ability?"

"Exactly how dangerous is this ability, and what are the parameters?"

"It's akin to a genie lamp from muggle tales, only instead of three wishes you have to fulfill three requests depending on the severity of the last one. Failure to do so kills any loved ones you have. However the power gained is enormous. I'm almost certain the person in question is a muggleborn with who's magic is bleeding into her Nen ability causing it to go out of control."

"I wasn't aware Nen and magic could merge."

"Yeah, neither did I until Netero informed me that the only way to see me while I was invisible was through Gyo, and Zeno said I was still almost impossible to see and he had a general idea of where I was. From what I can tell my initial Nen ability had accidentally merged with an extremely overpowered Notice-Me-Not charm, Silencing charm and Disillusionment charm all rolled into one."

"Can I see this ability of yours?"

She activated the trick, and the goblin was looking around.

"I see what you mean. I'm afraid that we have no idea of how to address such an issue other than binding her magic, but because it is bleeding into her Nen, that would be impossible."

"Can I get a binding oath so you don't repeat such information to others?"

"Considering the ability, I will get someone up here with a wand to perform an Unbreakable Vow. Any attempts to speak of what has been said here will result in death. Is that satisfactory?"

"Yes. Thank you."

* * *

Luna played with Alluka and eventually she did something that would cause her natural Nen ability to change whenever her eyes turned Scarlet. She made a wish, not for herself, but for Alluka's sake.

"_I wish I could help Alluka regulate her power better. So she could leave the room and be a normal girl for change and not have her own family fear her like mine did."_

Nanika, the spirit who did the wish granting, heard Kurt's only wish. She had been pestered three times and each time Kurt completed it without questioning why Alluka made such odd requests. One of which was to trace the scar Kurt had...and unknown to the girl, steal the soul who had been hiding there since her father and adopted mother were murdered.

Nanika giggled, glad to finally grant a wish to the only person _other_ than her older brother Killua who could work around her pestering system.

She didn't realize until much too late that the wish she had granted had a double meaning. As the one who granted the wishes, her power came from the lives of those she took when the three demands were not met.

So when she ended up taking the place of the spirit she had removed, she screamed in rage.

The girl had tricked her into being sealed just so Alluka wouldn't be feared by her own family anymore! What was worse was that she had no idea that she had done it!

Nanika seethed as she went to find a way to reverse it.


	6. Chapter 6

A week after the wish was granted, Luna had a very odd dream.

She could see a darker version of Alluka (whose Nen ability seemed to have quieted down quite a bit, and who hadn't pestered even the idiot Butler who let his name be known to her on accident yet!) and a younger version of herself.

Dark Alluka (she suspected it was Nanika) approach the younger girl.

"_**Why are you crying?"**__asked Nanika._

"_Aunty and Uncle hate me. Uncle hit me until I bled from my head and threw me into my cupboard. I wish I could disappear."_

"_**Then why can't I seem to tell where you are right now?"**_

"_What?" young Kurt asked, looking around._

"_I'm invisible! Maybe now I can play with the other kids and Dudley won't chase them away anymore!"_

"_**I don't see any Dudley around here."**_

"_Hey, would you like to be my friend?" asked Kurt, her eyes so wide and innocent that Luna had difficultly believing that was really her when she was only seven._

_She knew, because she remembered the scene when Vernon threw her into the cupboard so hard she got a nasty concussion. The reason why she even remembered it at all was because the next day she first used her invisibility and after that she could use Gyo. Apparently her magic was sick of the abuse so it activated her Nen early and regulated it to the point where her trick was instinctive and didn't use much of her reserves._

_Nanika stared at the young Kurt, clearly of the same opinion her older self was. Slowly a smile formed on her face and the two began to play like any normal 7-year-old girls would. The two got along so well it was easy to see Alluka under Nanika's persona._

* * *

Luna awoke to find her eyes scarlet red. She could sense something had changed about her Nen. When she heard a childish giggle, she initially assumed it was Alluka.

But it was from Nanika instead.

_**It would seem your unspoken wish has yielded some interesting results. Since I am now bound inside of you, Alluka's freedom rests entirely on your shoulders. Teach her how to control her power normally before I figure out a way to get out, and she might be free for once.**_

_'How did you get bound into me anyway?'_

_**Your unspoken wish is that Alluka could be free of her room and not have to see her family fear her powers. As an unintended result, I ended up taking the place of the soul I removed from your scar after I traced it. Since my power is stronger than yours, my way of granting it is to give you time to show her how to use her power before I can escape.**_

Luna spent the next month and a half showing Alluka things she could do with magic, and getting the girl to recreate it without her Nen ability. At first it was hard, but eventually Alluka got the hang of it. It helped that Luna found some wood inhabited by bowtruckles and snagged a hair off of a magical creature while out. With her roughly fashioned wand, Alluka's magical core started to stabilize to the point where it didn't bleed erratically into her Nen power.

Her magic and Nen were bound together, but the amount had been far too high for her young body to control, which was why it got so out of hand.

When Nanika finally managed to get out, even if it was partially, she noted the change.

Alluka's rather strong Nen ability was finally weakened enough that she could control it a little. And the more she learned magic, the stronger her control became.

When Luna told the Zoldyck clan the _real_ reason Alluka had such a strong and almost uncontrollable ability, Kikyou nearly cried in relief.

She could have her daughter back...and she wouldn't have to fear her. Up until now, only Killua had ever been able to control Nanika or her powers.

"How did you know?" asked Zeno, honestly curious.

"I knew when she touched my mind with her power. As the only other witch with Nen abilities anywhere near her range, she was drawn to me without knowing why. Once I learned what her powers were and what you had done to protect her, I couldn't stand by and let someone else go through life with their family fearing their very existence. According to Nanika, the one wish I actually did have had a rather...unusual consequence."

"What wish?" asked Zeno sharply.

"For Alluka to be able to walk around like a normal girl and not be feared by her family anymore. Apparently I had fulfilled her requests without knowing earlier...only Nanika didn't expect to be drawn into my mind long enough for me to teach Alluka magic. What I do know is that as long as Alluka is properly trained to use magic, her Nen ability won't be nearly as bad as before and she can use it on her own power instead of having Nanika do all the work."

"She can safely leave the room now?"

"Like I said, the real issue is training her so the magic doesn't overload her Nen like it did before. Right now it's stable, but we need someone who knows what they're doing."

"What of Nanika?" asked Silva.

Kurt tapped her head.

"Part of the wish was that I regulate her power so that she wouldn't be completely overwhelmed. It took Nanika a while to figure out how to escape, if only a little, but she still more or less stuck here."

"...You do realize we'll need to see exactly what that new ability can do now right?" asked Zeno. Having two Nen abilities was extremely rare, but from what he could tell the original wasn't an ability so much as a blending of magic spells amplified to cover basic Nen detection.

"Just get used to seeing red eyes. According to Nanika it will only activate while the scarlet eyes are activated."

"At least that keeps you from using it all the time."

* * *

_Six months since Kurt/Luna took on the apprenticeship, and two months since Nanika was partially sealed inside Kurt to regulate Alluka's Nen/Magical power..._

Kurt was eager to go to York New. And best of all the Zoldycks were letting her as a way to test Killua on his Nen training. But there was another reason as well.

Alluka had been given a test run of sorts with the Butlers, and they were relieved to find that Luna had in fact found a way to keep Alluka from using her power at random with only a name and face. She had yet to pester anyone other than Luna, and those were usually for piggyback rides. Alluka never did a repeat request, which meant that Nanika wasn't going to show up without warning.

And, in a show that Luna was right that Alluka was safe to be around without endangering the family, she was allowed to take the girl out for a week or two to see her brother Killua.

Naturally this meant Alluka was practically bouncing on the walls in excitement. When Kikyou wasn't training the girls anyway.

* * *

"Killua! Gon!" shouted Luna. Alluka was hiding on Luna's back.

"Luna!" said Gon.

Killua, however, was more interested in the odd backpack she had.

"What's with the human backpack? And where the hell did you find one?"

_Alluka, you're up!_

She heard Alluka giggle through the telepathic link they had. This was going to be a fun surprise!

"Hi, Big Brother!" chirped Alluka from Luna's shoulder.

Luna took a picture of Killua's face. Three times.

"What is she doing out? Don't you know...?" said Killua once his brain rebooted.

"Nanika can't come out to play anymore unless I want her to. Big Sister here made sure of it!" chirped Alluka.

"The system you put into place is still there cat-boy. Only now she has someone to keep Nanika in check so she doesn't bother people with only a name and face. She's been allowed out of her room for the past month among the Butlers, and the only person she's bothered was me, and that for piggyback rides."

Killua's jaw dropped.

"But how did you get Nanika under control?"

"Alluka pestered me three times, and I didn't know about the system but I still completed them easily. I never made a wish, but apparently Nanika shares the same telepathic bond I have with Alluka, because one of my thoughts was that I wished Alluka could go outside the room and not have to see her family afraid of her anymore. Next thing I knew Nanika was stuck inside my head and Alluka saw a Butler whose name was let slip accidentally and she didn't pester him at all."

"Sissy here has been training my magic!" chirped Alluka.

"Alluka is a witch...a very strong one at that. Her Nen and her magic mixed together somehow and created Nanika. So long as we can keep her magical core stable and trained, her ability won't go out of control like before."

Killua looked Kurt dead in the eye and said "Thank you."

"You do realize that it's only because of your intervention that I even brought Alluka with me to see you, right? Thanks to you she was protected from her own family."

"I know. I happen to like her more than I do any of the others."

"So why was she locked up?" asked Gon.

"Under certain conditions she becomes a mass murderer. Since the Zoldycks weren't protected by those conditions, with the exception of Killua here, they had to keep her away from anyone who would use that against them. At least, until I managed to find a way to control the problem to an extent. Now Alluka is allowed out of the house so long as I keep her from pestering people randomly."

"So how has that apprenticeship been going?"

"I'm up to assistant level. Though the look on Illumi's face when I hit him with a color changing hex was hysterical."

Killua looked like the cat who got the canary, almost literally in fact. His look then upgraded to the part where his arch nemesis the dog had taken the fall for the death when Luna gleefully brought out pictures that had Alluka snickering evilly.

Seeing Killua laugh himself to tears really made their day. When she produced _more_ photos of pranks she had hit his family with, he nearly kissed her.

She was giving him blackmail material! For free!

* * *

Unseen by them, Illumi was watching the two with something akin to amusement. He got his phone out and called his parents.

"_So? What do you think?"_

"Chances are very high that Killua will agree to her. And from what I understand about the blond, as long as his sister has no objections he won't either."

He held the phone away from his ear before his mother could get a good squeal of feminine joy out. Smart man.

"_Keep an eye on them...particularly Alluka. While she has been behaving since the girl managed to control Nanika, we don't want any incidents. If it even looks like Nanika is coming out without supervision, kill her,"_ said Zeno.

"Yes grandfather."

Kurapika was naturally charmed by Alluka. And he seemed pleased that his sister was out of the mansion. To make matters even better he was really happy the Zoldyck clan had done what they could for his sister's weight problem. The fact Luna actually hugged him just made his day.

He could live with the fact she was an assassin now. Hell, he planned to kill the Genrei Ryoudan and retrieve his...their clan's eyes, so he wasn't one to talk.

* * *

Luna and Alluka spent the day looking around and buying things. Kurapika was the only one who didn't wonder where Luna got the money, since he remembered his mother mentioning that James had been very, very rich.

"So what's the real reason you're here, aniki?" asked Luna.

"The Scarlet Eyes, the eyes of our clan, are being auctioned this year. It's in the underground auction."

"You know the location?"

Kurapika shook his head. While he had taken a job guarding a girl who had a flesh fetish (Kurapika really didn't want to hear more, unless it had to do with the Scarlet Eyes) he wasn't apart of the group heading to the underground auction.

"What about them?" he asked, nodding towards Gon and Killua.

"They're here to buy some game. Apparently they found a clue to Gon's father. The only issue is the price. Even I would think twice about buying it."

"Why?"

"Because the thing costs 8.9 billion. There _has_ to be an easier way to get a copy. Come to think of it, I heard a rumor about a special Hunter Only game from that fat ass's buddies..." said Luna.

She went to a computer and entered her handle ID. Soon quite a few people popped up.

_**ScarletMoon- **Yo. Here in York New and need information about a special game._

_**KingofGames-** hit us with it!_

_**WhiteDragon-** what's the request?_

_**ScarletMoon-** I heard a rumor about a special Hunter's Only game that pops up occasionally in York New. The problem is I can't afford to buy a copy. Any suggestions?_

_**WhiteDragon-** there's only one game like that. Why are you looking for Greed Island?_

_**ScarletMoon-** a friend has a copy of the memory card and a ring. Apparently his old man left it and he's trying to find more information. The pair of idiots think they can earn the zenni needed to buy it here. I want an alternate solution._

_**KingOfGames- **There is one other solution. A man named Tsezguerra is offering a chance to play the game. The only catch is you have to impress them with your Nen ability to get in. He has a selection exam where people try to earn a spot._

_**ScarletMoon-** what location and time? _

_**KingOfGames-** It's in York New, and according to my sources it starts on September 10th. That's about all they were able to give me._

_**ScarletMoon-** Thanks for the help! You'll be the first to hear if I succeed in getting in~!_

_**ScarletMoon has Logged Off.**_

* * *

Luna got off the computer and listened to Gon and Killua argue with Leorio about how to earn several billion zenni to buy the game while Alluka watched them like a tennis match.

Luna put two fingers to her mouth and whistled sharply enough to get their attention.

"Boys, quit arguing! I have a different mission for you that won't cause nearly as much headaches!" she told them sharply.

"What?" asked Gon.

"Coming up with the zenni you need to _buy_ the game is going to be next to impossible, and I'm not emptying my bank account trying. However, a few gaming friends of mine informed me of another method to get to Greed Island."

"What?!" said Killua.

"Your brother Milluki was quite happy to introduce me to a few online friends of his...after a broke a few bones of course," said Luna with a straight face.

Killua snorted.

"I can believe it. What's this other method?"

"According to KingOfGames, there is a man named Tsezguerra who offers a chance to play the game if you pass a selection exam and pay him. The problem is that we have to find out where that exam is. The day it's held is on September tenth, which is less than a week away."

That brought their spirits up. Looking for someone rich enough to own a copy had to be easier than finding enough cash to buy it themselves.

"But...there is a catch. I'm not about to let you idiots run off to play a Hunter Only game until I complete the mission Miss Kikyou gave me in order to come here. Alluka, you ready to play with your big brother?"

"Yippee!"

"Uh...Luna? What mission did my mother give you...?" asked Killua nervously.

"While they respect your request not to do any more contract killings for a while, they do want you to improve your skills. As such, Miss Kikyou asked me and Alluka to test your nen ability. You _have_ created a nen ability by now, right, Killua?"

"Nen ability?! We barely got the basics down!" said Gon.

"What's your Nen ability Luna?" asked Kurapika, who had come back from getting food.

Luna closed her eyes, then activated her Scarlet Eyes. Kurapika could feel the nen coming from them.

"My nen ability: Scarlet Resonance. With my Scarlet eyes active, I can resonate with the nen ability of anyone I make contact with either physically, emotionally or even through simple eye contact. The result is that I can either shut off their nen ability or amplify it past what they can do alone. The only restriction is that I have to at least see their face and know their name in order for it to work at full power. A little gift from Nanika for accidentally absorbing her from Alluka."

"What about that invisibility trick of yours?"

"Master Zeno has come to the conclusion that it's not a full nen ability, but a combination of magic and nen. I combine at least three different spells know to wizards and add a nen cloak, for lack of a better term, that makes nullifies my nen presence to anyone looking for it. As a result, I am essentially erased from existence until I wish to be seen again. Miss Kikyou and Illumi went to great lengths experimenting with that trick and have come to the conclusion that it's nearly impossible to break unless I want it to."

She looked at Killua with amusement.

"You do realize that until you reach the standards Miss Kikyou set down Illumi won't stop trailing us, right?"

"WHAT?!"

"Illumi was sent to insure Alluka doesn't return to her previous state of granting requests. Since in essence I have become her partner, Illumi has been trailing us since we first stepped off the blimp. I'm sure he would be _happy_ to help you learn how to create a nen ability if I asked..." she said mischievously.

"Hell no! I don't care what you have to do, but I refuse to work with Illumi!" said Killua, crossing his arms into an 'X' shape.

"In that case, we'll take shifts. Gon, you and Leorio will look for Tsezguerra while I train Killua, and after that Kurapika will join Killua and Alluka while I train you two. Sound fair?"

"Yay! I get to be with big brother!" said Alluka.

"Why do I get the feeling we just signed a contract with the devil?" asked Leorio rhetorically. Kurapika, who was standing next to him, kicked the man in the shin for that remark.


	7. Chapter 7

Leorio's question turned out to be quite accurate. Luna was a dog on a bone when it came to getting them up to standard. And like she threatened, she didn't hesitate to call Illumi and ask for his advice.

When he found out what she was doing, she heard a hint of amusement in his voice. Because of that, he told her exactly what she needed to know.

The result? Training from hell.

Finally, Killua had enough of trying to find Tsezguerra so he came up with another solution.

Ask Illumi.

Luna dialed him up with amusement. Killua grabbed the phone from the air and talked to his older brother. They could only hear one half of the conversation, but what they did spoke of how irritated Killua was.

In exchange for finding the location of the Selection Exam, Killua swore to come up with an appropriate Nen ability before the week was out. Otherwise he would go home and get more training from Master Zeno.

Illumi could agree to that, so he went looking for them. Even if it meant Alluka and Luna would be free from observation for a little bit, they would be too busy training the others.

Only Kurapika was exempt from this training, since he had already created an ability.

* * *

Killua was frustrated. He was an emission type while Gon was a reinforcement type. Imagination wasn't one of his strong points. So, in a fit of annoyance, Luna threw some manga at them that she stole from Milluki. Silva had chuckled when he heard his son scream in anger when he found out.

It was in one called '_Naruto'_ that he got an idea. He found a trick he liked a lot called the 'Chidori'. Since he could naturally handle a 1,000,000 volts thanks to his family, there was no reason he couldn't recreate it. Gon was a little trickier.

So Luna had him describe all the animals he had seen and came up with a suggestion. Since she rarely used reinforcement, she recommended trying to copy the strength of animals in the wild. Gon was a natural animal lover, and able to emphasize with them easily. (Well, except for Mike, but he was a rare case.)

Since he tended to make friends even with the more anti social beasts, Luna suggested making his occupation Beast Hunter, those who protect animals from poachers and the like and insure the balance was kept. Being able to match strength with a wild animal without hurting it would be of great help in that occupation.

Gon liked the idea so much that he started to work towards that goal.

Killua looked at Luna with amusement.

"If Gon's a Beast Hunter, and Kurapika's a Black List, what are you?"

"Well, after giving it some thought, I've decided on one of three kinds. Beast, Gourmet and Black List. There's no rule that says you have to specialize in one type. So far I've made progress as a Black List with Miss Kikyou's targets. I'm a natural Gourmet hunter and I've been taking many classes to improve my skills. And I get along better with animals than I do people most days."

"Man...this Hunter thing is harder than I expected," whined Killua.

"So, think you're ready to try again?" asked Luna.

"So why isn't Alluka joining us?" asked Gon.

"Because her nen ability awoke too early for her to handle the power. Killua can attest to that. In her case it's not ability that's the problem, but control and restraint. That's why I developed my Scarlet Resonance to help her out. As long as my eyes are active, I can keep that power from hurting those around her."

"I wonder how that ability would work?" asked Killua.

"Hmm...perhaps a demonstration is in order. Kurapika, would you mind helping me with this? Alluka's ability is too dangerous for a simple demonstration," said Luna.

"Sure. I'm actually kind of curious about it as well."

"Alright then. I'll tell you when to use your chains," said Luna.

She closed her eyes, focused her rage towards Albus Dumbledore for leaving her with those people, and activated her eyes.

"_Scarlet Resonance,"_ she whispered.

Kurapika flinched. He felt the connection immediately. For a moment he actually blacked out.

Inside his head, he could see a younger Luna and a girl who looked like the darker side of little Alluka.

"_Hi! Are you here to play?"_ asked little Luna.

"Where am I?"

"_**I see she's starting to use that trick of hers. This place, as you could consider it, is where Luna put her innocence in order to keep it from being tainted. Rather ingenious really. By activating the Scarlet Resonance as she calls it, she's giving her younger self new people to interact with. In return she is given absolute control of the ability and the power output."**_

"What exactly does it do?"

"_**Young Luna is basically a shield. By placing the mind of her target in here to 'play' with her younger self, she essentially blinds the other party to the fact she is controlling their power."**_

Nanika chuckled, as she said something that had Kurapika blink.

"_**It's amusing really. Her name is actually quite appropriate considering the ability she came up with. If her younger self is the sun, then her older self is the moon. The strength of the reflection is entirely controlled by her innocent side."**_

By the time Kurapika woke up, he wasn't aware that he had been out cold for five minutes.

"What happened?"

"Huh... I didn't expect that to happen. Then again, that was the first time I've actually used it on purpose. You were out for five minutes."

"And the water on me?" he asked.

She hooked a thumb at Leorio. It had been his idea. Kurapika, in a fit of annoyance, threw a pillow at him.

"So what happened?"

"From what that other girl said, the reflection of the sun was too powerful for the moon to use."

"Huh?" was the general reply.

"Let me explain as best I can. The other girl there, the one who looked like a dark Alluka, she commented on how your younger self was like the sun to your moon. That the strength of the 'reflection' was entirely up to your younger, more innocent self. In a way, I'm kind of glad she's there."

"Why's that?" asked Killua.

"Because it means that there's still a chance for you to be a normal person. You haven't lost all faith in humanity just yet. Certain people, yes, but not humanity as a whole."

"Well it also brings up the issue of multiple personality disorder," said Luna amused.

"Not really. It seems to me your younger self prefers to play with people you make contact with through your ability."

"So what does her ability _do_ exactly?" asked Killua.

"Her ability, Scarlet Resonance, is to create connections with people who use nen. Specifically it's to give her younger, more innocent self, an opening. She draws their attention to her, and the contact is reflected back to her older self. The stronger the connection, the more powerful the reflection is. In simple terms, a weak connection is like a new moon. The sun is reflecting light, but it's being blocked by the Earth so you can't see it very well. A strong connection is like the full moon, when the refraction is at it's strongest. You understand?"

"How weird," said Leorio.

Gon, however, actually understood what Kurapika was getting at. The Luna they saw wasn't the one controlling the power at all. Her younger self which she had hidden inside her was.

"There's one other thing you should know. Ever since I first made direct contact with Nanika, she has been unable to leave. I think the connection is permanent."

"That's alright with me. If anything, it means that no one will be able to hide you from me again," said Kurapika.

She beamed at him...right before an owl came in from out of nowhere and dropped a letter on her head. Since she felt something very off about the innocuous seeming paper she threw it away from her.

"Luna?" asked Killua questioningly.

Luna picked up a pair of tongs, then carefully opened it. She dropped them scant seconds before she felt the pull of magic, and they vanished.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Killua.

"Port key. Someone just tried to kidnap me," spat Luna.

Kurapika's eyes flashed scarlet the second she said port key. He had a good idea who it was.

"I think we could all use a break. Killua, why don't you and Luna go enjoy a movie while I take Gon and Leorio book shopping for ideas?" said Kurapika deviously.

He was conspiring with the Zoldyck clan to give his sister some measure of happiness. The fact that they could tolerate each other's company for longer than an hour was more than enough incentive for him to help the Zoldyck clan continue with the arranged marriage.

Well that and it was an unofficial older brother's job to mess with their younger sibling.

* * *

Luna and Killua were on a date, completely aware that Kurapika, Gon, Leorio and Illumi were watching the entire thing, from two separate tables.

Since Killua had never come across the goblins yet and set up his account, Luna decided to make this day somewhat constructive and take him to the goblin bank to deal with the greedy bastards, even if the rest of the day was a waste of time.

Their first stop was at a bookstore that sold manga. Killua had a love for the more violent ones like 'Ranma' and 'Kenichi'. Luna picked up a few magical girl ones, mostly because her younger self loved them and she got interesting ideas on outfits.

Next was a bit of wandering around the auction sites, finding odds and ends that amused them. Once they got hungry, they found an open cafe that had the biggest sundae you had ever seen with fruits, candies, and cookies inside it. It was guaranteed to give you a diabetic coma.

Killua had to fight over his date for most of the chocolate ice cream. Luna had to admit, she enjoyed the mock battle for the icy treat. Their spoons kept making the clashing sounds of metal on metal, to the amusement of the other patrons.

Kurapika was too busy trying not to laugh at the sight to keep Gon from taking pictures at Leorio's suggestion.

It was when they went to eat Italian that they found a problem.

Luna was enjoying her meatball and spaghetti when she heard a whiny voice that sent shivers of horror down her spine. She had hoped that she had left that voice and it's owner in Surrey.

She shivered, attracting the notice of their watchers and her date. Suddenly there was a text on her phone. She took it out of her pocket, getting the attention of the whiny brat three tables over who was eating enough food to feed a third world country for a week.

_**RedEyes:**_** are those who I think they are?**

She wrote a quick text, double checking just to be sure herself.

_**ScarletMoon:**_** if you think those are the horse, whale and small pig, then you would be correct. I'm going to see if Killua's interested in another restaurant.**

Luna had already eaten and Killua was mostly polishing off the breadsticks.

"How does coffee sound?"

"I prefer tea. Is this because of three tables over?" he asked.

She nodded, and they paid the bill before leaving. Unfortunately the small pig had other ideas.

"If it isn't the freak! I thought you died in that stupid exam!" sneered the pig.

Luna winced, and her demeanor switched to Kurt seamlessly. It was only Killua's hand that kept her from vanishing.

"The only freak I see here is the small pig," said Killua snidely.

"I thought that was your brother?" she said quietly. Killua bit back a laugh. Even in the presence of her tormentors, she was still Luna.

Spotting Kurapika nearby, Killua sent a text to the teen with his other hand, hoping he could type without looking.

Kurapika showed up with a black wig that he had been using to hide his presence, and switched places with Killua and Kurt. It didn't take long for the three to be kicked out of the cafe and sent screaming out of the area by a pissed off Kurta. Killua noticed Kurt was pretty shaken confronting her childhood tormentors, so he took her someplace he knew she liked.

Kurt liked flowers and wide open spaces, and there was a park nearby. Once she calmed down enough to revert to Luna, they got some crepes and tried to continue their date.

* * *

Illumi had watched the entire thing, and was calling his parents with the news.

"Well Illumi? What is it?" demanded Kikyou.

"You'll be happy to know that the plan to push the two together will be highly successful."

"Go on," said Kikyou, eagerness in her voice.

"Killua and Luna went on a date earlier and were confronted by what I suspect is the girl's so-called 'aunt' and her family. Killua brought in the Kurta boy and took Luna to a nearby park to calm down. Clearly there is some feeling there, even if it's minor. Chances of pairing the two later should work very well if this is any indication."

Illumi wisely held the phone away from his ear as his mother went on a rant about finally having some grandchildren to spoil since it was clear that Luna and Killua would be a perfect match. When the ranting died down, Zeno came on the phone.

"You sent your mother into a tizzy. You do realize she'll be bugging you for months to find a girl," he said dryly.

"Damn it all to hell... What should I do about the people I saw earlier?"

"I get the feeling Killua wouldn't object to a little killing today...and we can't allow our heir to get out of practice..." suggested Zeno slyly.

Illumi blinked. That was actually a brilliant plan. And they could claim that they were hired by the Potter clan since Luna insisted on going by her mother's maiden name after learning about her older brother.

They just needed the girl to sign off on it, so the goblins would back up the claim.

Luna read the text from Master Silva, and decided now was the perfect time to go see the goblins about Killua's account.

"Welcome back Lady Kurta. What may we do for you?" asked the goblin.

"I want to get Killua Zoldyck's account set up and settle a business matter."

"Very well Lady Kurta. Master Zoldyck, follow me for the standard account sign up. Because this is your first time in a goblin bank the fee is pass, but this is the only time. Might I also suggest you look over the interest rates for the accounts?"

"I'll meet you in the lobby in thirty Killua," said Luna.

"Sure thing. Can we bring Gon by or do you think Kurapika will drag him in where with Leorio?"

Luna sent a quick text and got a reply.

"Kurapika will walk Gon and Leorio through this. They haven't set their accounts yet."

Illumi walked into the office and found Luna waiting.

"So what exactly do you need my help with?"

Illumi showed her the rough contract he had written up on the spot, and it included the family discount they gave her since she was Kikyou's apprentice.

"Killua will do the job?" she asked surprised.

"Best to keep him in practice, even if the target is civilian with no known fighting skills."

"Just warn him that the older male has practice in hitting smaller moving objects and that a good hit can break bones," she warned him.

Illumi nodded. He would inform Killua of this new assignment once he had their location.


	8. Chapter 8

Killua had sworn never to be an assassin again. He was sick of killing others for profit.

Killing the trio from earlier, however, was the lone exception. After getting the basic rundown from Luna about the Dursley family, Killua wasn't the least bit sorry for what he was about to do.

Petunia Dursley had shot her niece such a look of pure loathing, Vernon had looked at her in a way that made his skin crawl, and the fat pig Dudley was such a jerk that there was little hope of redeeming him.

Sure, his parents were disguising this as a basic assassination mission under the guise of a contract with the Potter family (he had no idea who they were, but he was glad for the opportunity to get back at the Dursleys for what they did to poor Luna) in order to keep him from being arrested for murder. Hell, he could be standing in the room once the cops came with their blood on his hands and the weapons dripping and they wouldn't be able to arrest him as long as he had the contract.

Plus with his Hunter's license, they wouldn't care.

Killua slipped into the room, and waited for his time. Patience was something you gained in spades if you were an assassin.

Suddenly the woman walked in, her husband behind her carrying a large amount of bags. Killua dropped down and slit her throat with his elongated nails. There was a reason why Luna compared him to a cat. Vernon screamed and kept screaming until his body finally caught onto the fact that his heart was missing. Dudley wet himself before Killua repeated the process from earlier.

When the mafia came in to investigate the screaming (they were on edge after the incident during the underground auction, and with good reason) to find a boy with blood on his hands and a beating heart in his right hand.

"Who are you?" demanded the leading mafioso.

"Zoldyck. I have the contract if you want to see that too," he said bluntly.

"A Zoldyck? Carry on then," said the man from earlier. They weren't about to mess with a Zoldyck on contract. He didn't need to see the contract, the ice in the boy's eyes and the ease in which he crushed the heart was all the proof he needed.

And if the kid was lying, well, then the clan would have to take him out soon enough.

Killua walked out the front door covered in blood and no one even stopped him.

* * *

"Well done Killua."

"I would have done it for free if she had asked," said Killua.

Illumi resisted the urge to laugh. It was pretty damn clear that Killua liked Luna a lot if he was willing to kill the people who turned her into what she was now.

"Yes, about that..."

"The contract wasn't legit?" asked Killua sharply.

"Oh, it was real alright...but the one who 'officially' hired you was Luna herself. Why did you think the pay out was so low?" said Illumi. He was recording this as blackmail for later. It was only fair, since Luna conspired with Killua against him.

"What?"

"Luna's father's last name was Potter. She used her father's account to pay for the hit at Father's recommendation. Why else do you think we gave her the family discount?"

"Suddenly I feel a lot less guilty about killing them. It's a miracle," he said dryly.

"I have asked father, and he said that should you take up the profession of a Black List Hunter he will not force you to take up assassination aside from the odd job."

"I get to pick which jobs, right?"

"As long as you keep up the family profession I'm sure we could work out an arrangement," said Illumi calmly.

"In that case tell dad we have a deal. I'll become a Black List," said Killua. He had been wondering which one to take, and Black List hunters usually went after real scumbags.

* * *

"Father, I have gotten Killua to accept your suggestion. He agreed to take the odd jobs so long as he can pick which one he goes on."

"Well done Illumi. At least now we can keep our heir. Any other news?"

"He performed the 'assignment' without a word of protest and it was done efficiently. Aside from the mafia being on edge enough to investigate the screams of the man, he left without any trouble."

"Good. See if she can get him to improve on his technique in that area as well once he finds out how to use Nen properly," said Silva.

"She has already started teaching Alluka that disappearing trick of hers...apparently it _can_ be learned."

"Interesting."

* * *

Luna was making an inspection of one of her vaults, this one had no gold in it but items that had been bought by the family that they didn't have the space for. She was about to leave the vault when her foot caught on something. Further inspection revealed something she never expected to see in a magical vault.

Why was there a Joystation in here?

Close to it was a large number of discs and a few memory cards. Now she was really, really confused. She put it in her bag and decided to look into it later after dinner.

"I thought magicals didn't like electronics?" asked Kurapika, just as confused as she was. He had managed to get out of his contract by claiming that he had entered into another that would kill him if he didn't show up. His employer had been less than happy, but had released him.

At least he got a good contact out of the deal. In exchange for helping Melody find a series of music sheets, she would help them out from time to time.

"So did I. And look at the number of game discs in here. Some of these were only sold for a limited time before they were no longer produced. And you won't believe what I found in the console."

"What?" asked Killua.

She popped it open, and everyone's jaws collectively dropped in disbelief.

There, sitting innocently in the ordinary console, was a copy of _Greed Island_.

"And get this. I found a journal that my father wrote explaining why he bought the thing, even though he didn't have a clue what it was. Lily got him interested in normal entertainment in the hopes he would want to learn more about muggles. However after buying _Greed Island_ and finding it didn't work, he gave up. He bought a copy mostly because according to him all the good games were very high-priced and he assumed the same would be for this one. He finally left it in the 'junk' vault since he didn't know what else to do with it and it's been accumulating dust ever since," said Luna.

Kurapika twitched.

"James Potter bought a copy of _the_ most expensive game ever made and left it in a vault all this time?" said Kurapika.

"Talk about wasteful...he sounds as bad as Milluki," said Killua sweatdropping.

"Well, at least now we don't have to go through that Selection Exam just to get into the game. The only question is where do we set up the system? We can't stay here, not with the Spiders running loose," said Luna.

"I heard a rumor that the Spiders will attack the new sight of the Mafia's Underground auction in order to draw out the one who killed a member," said Kurapika.

"Any idea who it was?"

"...It was me. I killed him before you contacted me earlier. Melody told me that they were hunting for the 'Chain-User', which was why I hid here. No one would bother an older brother who is keeping an eye on his younger sister and her friends."

"Seriously?" said Luna. Kurapika nodded, explaining how he caught and later killed a Spider who happened to be the same type as Gon in terms of Nen.

Upon hearing about the crazed Genrei Ryodan, Luna did the only thing she could think of.

She conjured a harisen (paper fan used to deliver punishment that only _sounds_ painful when hit) and started beating the living daylights out of her brother for being an idiot. Killua was laughing so hard that he didn't notice he was sparking like a wire with a short.

When Luna came too close to him, his sparks suddenly coalesced into a natural electric barrier.

The fan caught fire and she dropped it quickly.

She blinked.

"I don't believe this. Six days of trying and failing to make a Nen ability and you do it while I happened to be attacking my brother?"

"What?"

"Take a good look around you. Notice anything odd?"

"What the heck?!" said Killua, finally taking note of the barrier. It barely went a foot around him, but when he touched it, he didn't get shocked. Alluka touched it, and her hair went completely frizzy.

"I suppose your attempts at recreating the Chidori and Raikiri would produce some odd results..." said Luna.

"So I can create a lighting barrier? I wonder if it can protect others."

"Why don't we test that out now. Deactivate your Nen and we'll start experimenting with it. Gon, have you made any progress?" asked Luna.

Gon held up an arm. It morphed into a furry hand.

"Arm of the Beast King," he said.

"Let me guess, it allows you to enforce your body to the point where it can copy a beast's strength as long as you've seen it once?" said Luna.

Gon nodded. She looked at Leorio.

"I call mine Absolute Surgeon. Lets me operate using Nen or with a regular scapel. Only problem is that I can't keep it up for very long."

"Your reserves are quite pathetic, that's why. At least now we can tell Master Silva that you've managed to come up with something," said Luna.

* * *

Illumi stopped by to see what they had come up with. Killua had been practicing for hours to duplicate the barrier from earlier.

He threw out a hand and said "Lightning Jail!"

At his words, his Nen flared and created an imperfect barrier around Illumi with electricity. An experimental touch caused his hair to poof up a bit. He gave Killua a look, as it was clear that the boy was exhausted.

"Is this the best you can come up with?"

"Hold on... Thunder Barrier!"

The jail vanished, and a shield of lightning surrounded Killua. It was smaller than before, but the power of the electricity had increased.

"Two abilities?" said Illumi, surprised.

"Luna helped out a lot," admitted Killua, exhausted.

"I'll inform father that you've completed the task given."

Killua would have said something, but he was on the verge of collapse. Illumi caught him and deposited the boy with Luna. She nodded to him, and had the phone ready to order massive amounts of food when he woke up.

* * *

Killua woke up a day later, once his reserves were filled up enough. Luna ordered all his favorites, and he was soon chowing down with the rest of them. Once they filled up, they decided to declare today one of rest. After all, they had managed to come up with a Nen ability that suited them and they needed time to relax for a bit.

Kurapika immediately jumped on setting Killua and Luna up for another date. Hopefully this one wouldn't be interrupted like before. Then again, after what he heard from Melody, he would be very surprised to see the Dursleys again. According to her, an assassin targeted them a day after the confrontation and none of them survived.

Kurapika suspected either Illumi or Killua for the deed, but refused to confront him.

Killua and Luna were enjoying a movie when they heard someone having an outdoor concert.

"_The dancing snowflakes are fragments of stars_

_Reaching out towards the heavens_

_I can feel my wishes as they come and go_

_Everything is now in monochrome_

_The white breath spilling softly from my lips_

_Is shaped like words I want to convey_

_It must be the warmth that's making the sky grow faintly lighter_

_Our wings are drenched in shared sorrow_

_Turning pure white as they overlap_

_And becoming a gentle courage for the future we passed to each other_

_The beating of my heart as I wait for the dawn of an unknown world_

_A new tomorrow that begins as I depart with the first rays of light_

_The dancing snowflakes are fragments of stars_

_Reaching out towards the heavens_

_I can feel my wishes as they come and go_

_Everything is now in monochrome."_

(Look up the anime _Star Driver_. This is the song that the girl sings every time there is a Mecha Battle in that weird side world. It's called Monochrome, or the Fish Girl's Insert Song.)

Luna wasn't the only one clapping to the girl's beautiful voice. Killua liked it too. There was actually a line of people who were buying a copy of her CD.

Unlike last time, Killua and Luna actually got to enjoy their date. Not that Killua or Luna knew it was one. Neither of them had any experience with social interaction outside killing others, and Gon was Killua's first real friend. It was understandable why they were confused at how the older women kept commenting that they were a cute couple, particularly since was actually wearing a skort and tank top.

(Everything else was in the wash...and the rest was hidden by a mischievous Kurapika.)

Kurapika was with Gon taking pictures for later to tease the two. Well, that and blackmail material. He wondered how his sister would handle the fact she was going to be engaged to the cheerful Killua once she turned sixteen.

Illumi had given him a copy of the standard agreement between families, since Kurapika was technically her legal guardian. According to the family's law, the Zoldyck Heir would have to marry a woman or man who fit their criteria when he was old enough in order to carry on the name.

And the girl Silva and Zeno agreed on was Luna, who was Kikyou's apprentice. At the very least, Killua wouldn't object too much to the match, since he got along with her outside jobs and training.

Plus Kikyou could be quite frightening once she got it into her head about grandchildren to spoil and train. Not even the Zoldyck men and their Butlers were willing to cross a woman who wanted grandchildren to spoil rotten.


End file.
